MotoGP 2011 – Round 13 – Misano
MotoGP Misano Statistical Preamble – Compiled by Dr. Martin Raines
MotoGP
• Casey Stoner starts from pole for the eighth time this year – the most poles in a single season in the MotoGP class since Stoner himself had nine poles in 2008. Stoner will be aiming to take four successive GP race wins for the first time.
• Casey Stoner’s pole position lap is the fastest ever lap of the Misano circuit by a motorcycle, 0.24 seconds faster than the previous record set by Stoner riding a Ducati in 2008.
• In second place on the grid is Jorge Lorenzo – his fifth successive front row start. Lorenzo has finished second in each of his three previous appearances at Misano in the MotoGP class.
• Last year’s winner at Misano, Dani Pedrosa, takes the final place on the front row of the grid.
• Heading the second row of the grid is Ben Spies, who will be going for back-to-back podium finishes for the first time in his GP career.
• In fifth place on the grid is Marco Simoncelli, whose only top ten GP finish at Misano is sixth in the 250cc race in 2008.
• Andrea Dovizioso starts from sixth place on the grid – the tenth time this year that he has qualified on the second row.
• Seventh on the grid is Colin Edwards, who will be aiming to finish in the top six for the first time at the Misano circuit.
• Alvaro Bautista is in eighth place on the grid – equalling his best ever qualifying result in the MotoGP class, first achieved at the Malaysian Grand Prix last year.
• Taking the final place on the third row of the grid is Hector Barbera – the highest placed Ducati rider in qualifying.
• Hiroshi Aoyama is in tenth place on the grid, equalling his previous best qualifying result in the MotoGP class.
• Valentino Rossi starts from eleventh place on the grid – the seventh time this year that he has failed to qualify within the top ten.
Moto2
• Stefan Bradl starts from pole for the seventh time in 2011, but for the first time since the Dutch TT at Assen.
• Marc Marquez is in second place on the grid, after starting on pole at the last four successive races.
• Third-fastest qualifier Yuki Takahashi starts from the front row of the grid for the first time since the Catalan Grand Prix.
• Scott Redding heads the second row of the grid – his best qualifying result since he was second on the grid at Silverstone.
• Starting from fifth place on the grid for his home GP is Alex de Angelis, who has not had a GP finish at Misano since 2007.
• Taking the final place on the second row is Bradley Smith, who has finished in the top four for the last three years in the 125cc class at Misano.
125cc
• Johann Zarco starts from pole for the second time this year. Zarco has had six podium finishes so far in 2011, but is still aiming for his first GP victory.
• Hector Faubel starts from the front row for the first time since the German Grand Prix, when he went on to win the race.
• In third place on the grid is Nico Terol, his ninth front row start of the year. Terol has finished 2nd for the last two years at Misano – behind the world championship-winning rider on both occasions.
• Heading the second row of the grid is Sandro Cortese, who will be aiming to finish on the podium at three successive races for the first time in his GP career.
• Danny Kent has qualified in fifth place on the grid for the second successive race. Kent won the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup race at Misano last year.
• Miroslav Popov has qualified in sixth place on the grid, which is the best qualifying result by a wild-card rider since Marcel Schrotter was 4th fastest qualifier at the German GP in 2009. This is also the best qualifying result by a Czech rider in the 125cc class since Lukas Pesek was 4th on the grid at the final race of 2007 in Valencia.
• Maverick Viñales is starting from tenth place on the grid – his lowest qualifying result since the third race of the year at Estoril.